US: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has adopted the ‘OGC WaterML 2.0 Part 1: Time Series Encoding Standard’ as an official OGC standard. OGC WaterML 2.0 is an important new XML-based international standard for encoding and exchanging data describing the state and location of water resources, both above and below the ground surface. WaterML 2.0 Time Series supports encoding of hydrological and hydrogeological observation data in exchange scenarios such as:
– Exchange of data for operational monitoring and forecasting programs
– Supporting infrastructure operation (e.g. dams, supply systems)
– Exchange of observational and forecast data for surface water and groundwater
– Release of data for public dissemination
– Enhancing disaster management through data exchange
– Exchange in support of national reporting
The WaterML 2.0 Time Series work was supported through a water information research and development alliance between the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Water for a Healthy Country Flagship program and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The work was also supported by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science Hydrologic Information System (CUAHSI) and many other organizations around the world.
Dr David Maidment of the Center for Research in Water Resources, University of Texas at Austin, and leader of CUAHSI, which developed WaterML 1.0, said, “This is the first public, open source, global standard for the exchange of water information through the Internet. It is critical for linking local, regional, national and global water information sources into connected water information networks throughout the earth.”
Australian Bureau of Meteorology Deputy Director Climate and Water, Dr. Dasarath Jayasuriya, welcomed the announcement of WaterML 2.0. “This is a great outcome for the Water Information community. In Australia, WaterML 2.0 will be used to guide development of the second version of the Water Data Transfer Format, which is designed to help the Australian water industry share data to the Bureau. This will enable the Bureau to efficiently ingest and process water data and provide it to the community in a timely manner. Using these standards will significantly improve the quality and comparability of the water data the Bureau publishes,” Dr Jayasuriya said.
Source: OGC
